We've been covering monthly condo gains and losses for the past few months. Last month, we found that condo units that earned at least a 200 per cent gain in April 2023 were held for at least 15 years. On the other hand, 32 condo units were sold at a loss in the same month.

Last week, we focused on the capital gains of executive condo units that were sold on the resale market in May 2023.

Today, we'll be looking at the profitable condo transactions last month. We'll also do an article on the condo units that made a loss in the coming days, so stay tuned for that.

Condos sold in May 2023 made a profit averaging $470k

Based on URA data captured as of June 21, there were 820 condo units resold last month that made a capital gain, averaging around $470,000.

Interestingly, this is around the same average capital gain made by ECs that were resold in the same month. (Based on URA data captured as of June 21, the average capital gain made by ECs was around $473,000.)

But when we look closer at the capital gains of last month’s profitable transactions, the capital gains are more varied.

For instance, the highest capital gain recorded in May 2023 is a whopping $7,046,101 for a 2,885 sq ft unit at Ardmore Park. Bought in July 1996 for $5,853,899, the unit was sold 27 years later for $12.9 million last month. This works out to a capital gain of 120 per cent and an annualised gain of 2.97 per cent.

In recent years, the development is best known for its resident celebrity. Back in April 2020 (when Singapore had just started Circuit Breaker), Vicki Zhao and her husband bought a penthouse at Ardmore Park for nearly $28 million!

Meanwhile, at the other end of the spectrum, the lowest profit recorded last month was $1,100 for a 398 sq ft unit at Oceanfront Suites. The owner(s) had bought it around 10 years ago in June 2013 for $608,900, before selling it at $610,000 last month. This also means that the owners had only made a 0.2 per cent capital gain (or an annualised gain of 0.02 per cent).

Top 10 gains made by condos in May 2023 (by quantum)

Figures (except floor area) in the table are rounded off to 3 significant figures.

Resale condos for sale

40 per cent of the top 10 condo gainers came from District 21

60 per cent of the top 10 condo gainers came from the Core Central Region (CCR). In fact, when we look closer at the data, the top five condo gainers were all from the CCR.

Specifically, these CCR units are located in District 9 and District 10, which are traditionally the prime areas in Singapore. Factors such as proximity to the city centre help support the price growth in these districts.

Nevertheless, there's still some opportunity for homeowners to earn a high capital gain outside the CCR.

Among the top 10 condo gainers last month, three units are located in the Rest of Central Region (RCR), while one is in the Outside Central Region (OCR).

But we should note that these four units are all located in District 21, which is at the north-west of Bukit Timah.

When we compare the price trends of resale condos in these three districts, we find that District 21 has seen the highest appreciation in the last 15 years at 109.67 per cent. This is followed by District 10 at 84.05 per cent and District 9 at 65.09 per cent.

90 per cent of the top 10 condo gainers were held for at least 15 years

Given the long holding period of most of these units, they were most probably bought for owner-occupation instead of property investment. The huge size of the units (at least 1,300 sq ft) signals this as well.

The only exception is the New Futura unit, which was sold after five years and made a capital gain of $3,365,200.

With its District 9 location (to be more specific, it's in River Valley), the unit was likely bought with property investment in mind.

For starters, it's within walking distance of two MRT stations: Somerset MRT and Great World MRT. In particular, the latter was only opened in late 2022 as part of Stage Three of the Thomson-East Coast Line. The increased connectivity in the area has made nearby condos such as New Futura more attractive to potential home buyers.

ALSO READ: Which types of condos were bought below $1m since the start of 2023?

This article was first published in 99.co.